Titans 1602
by Artificer Urza
Summary: The year is 1602, Queen Elizabeth is in her twilight years and James of Scotland stands poised to take over. The Spanish Inquisition continues to hunt heretics and those who do not worship the god of the Christians. Monsters, both human and inhuman roam t
1. Chapter 1

Titans 1602 

By Artificer Urza

Chapter 1 

-1602- Hampton Court, England; the seat of power of England, the residence of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth. Dark clouds hung overhead, hung over all of England, in fact. The air was thick with humidity and yet there had not been any rain in weeks, months almost. The air rumbled and grumbled as lightning flashed, but not a drop of water fell. A carriage, moving at a leisurely pace was approaching. The passenger was a youth, dressed like nobility; he had short, black hair and sharp blue eyes. He looked at the scenery outside, but his face had a deeply ponderous expression. The carriage pulled up to the gates of the Queen's mansion of Hampton Court.

"Master Wayne?" The driver said as the carriage came to a stop. "We've arrived, sir."

The young man exited the carriage, porters were waiting for him and began to take his luggage; he would remain in the hospitality of Her Majesty for a while, so he had packed some essentials. Another figure came out of the shadows; this was another youth, similar in age to master Wayne. This newcomer wore faded red hunting togs and had a bow and full quiver of arrows on his back. He had red hair, dark eyes and a boyish smile; he was quite the ladies-man.

"Been waiting forever here for you, Richard." He said with a thick Irish brogue. "Was beginning to think you'd never show up."

"Aren't you little far east for hunting, Seamus Harper?" Richard almost smiled. "Did you get lost or did your prey elude you?"

"How could you ever think I could get lost?" Seamus laughed. "I'm here for business; Ollie didn't really need me, so he sent me here."

"Why would Lord Quinn send you here?"

"Well he told me 'twas to hunt down some night beasties, but he said that I'd be meeting with Garth later on."

"Garth?"

"The Fish-King's boy. I suspect that I'm here for the same reason your Lord Wayne sent you to Her Majesty."

"Excuse me, my lords, but Her Majesty expressed her desire to see master Wayne as soon as he arrived." A servant interjected.

"Well, seems you've got business to attend to. If you've got the time, meet me down at the Moor's Head Tavern across the Thames before midnight. We can go for a little hunt." Seamus said as he strolled off towards the peer.

"Ah… this way, master Wayne." The servant directed Richard.

-The Atlantic Ocean-

Somewhere in the Atlantic, closer to England than to America, a ship, the Virginia Maid, sailed. It carried no trading cargo from the recently established colonies, but it was still on a very mission. Onboard were three very important people: one was the first child to be born in the American colonies, Virginia Dare, granddaughter of the founder of the Roanoke colony. The second a colonist herself, Tara Marks, who wore leather clothes made by the Native American's in imitation of the colonists. She wore her blond hair short and tried to pass as a boy as best she could, in order to avoid trouble and hassle from the sailors. The third was… different. She was a native of America, but unlike her fellow Indians she had orange skin, red hair and sparkling emerald eyes that seemed to almost glow. She wore leather in the fashion of her people, wearing beads and ornaments as well. There were many rumours about her; the sailors had heard that she was the Indians fiercest warrior and had the strength of ten grown men, that she could cast green fire from her hands. There were whispers and talk all over the ship that it was this girl who had convinced the natives to help the colony of Roanoke survive the winter. The sailors called her 'the princess' because she gave off a royal air, without being arrogant or snooty, her name translated into English as Starfire.

The voyage had been rather enjoyable as decent weather had been with them the entire way thus far and it was a perfect night to see the stars. Starfire stood on the deck, looking at the stars with a near longing look on her face. Tara came up from below deck, muttering something about how she'd never have children. She walked over to where Starfire stood and looked out over the water.

"How is Virginia?" Starfire asked.

Even though she had learned to speak English quite well, Starfire still spoke with a great deal of formality and had trouble expressing herself in the language.

"She's asleep, like you should be." Tara replied irritably.

"Did you have difficulties?"

"She's getting excited and nervous about seeing the Queen. I swear, if its gonna be like this, I'm never havin' kids."

"Well, we can hardly blame her… I too am excited by the prospect of visiting a foreign land."

"Yeah, but you don't go on and on about it… the girl just wouldn't shut up. Bloody child…"

"She is not that much younger then we are."

"The devil she's not! She's fourteen; we're eighteen you and I. We're adults she's a kid… why the devil did they send her anyways?"

"As I understand it, she was sent because she is the first child born in the colony of Roanoke. They felt that it would generate more interest if she were the one to speak to your queen. I am more confused as to why you and I were sent as well."

"You were sent because you are a strong warrior and it's because of you that Roanoke survived the first winter."

"The chief merely listened when I asked them to help… I was four, I was a child." Starfire smiled gently in remembrance.

"Yeah, but they listened to you because you're some 'gift from the heavens' or some such. I was sent to keep an the both of you." Tara said irritably.

"This 'England' it is the country in which you were born?"

"Yeah, but I don't remember it. I was a wee mite when my dad brought me over, so I essentially grew up in America."

"What about your mother or other siblings, Terra?" Starfire turned to Tara.

Starfire was deeply interested in families. Tara, on the other hand, turned away and was clearly not interested in talking about it.

"Don't call me 'Terra', only the old man calls me that. Why are you bringing this up now? We got stuff to do when we get to England; we should just do it and get it over with without this bloody pomp. Now it's late, get to bed." Tara said, trudging away.

Starfire said nothing and looked back up at the stars.

-On a road to London-

A mid-sized caravan traveled. Covered wagons pulled by horses, the people within noisy with conversation; the head wagon had a knight holding the reigns. The knight was dressed in full plate mail armour, from head to toe, impossible to tell who was underneath that metal. The armour was engraved with many symbols of the occult and arcane and within the helm from where the left eye should be within the visor a red glow blazed. An intimidating figure to thieves or bandits, which was exactly the purpose of him heading up the caravan. A young boy emerged from within one of the wagons and sat beside the knight. This young man had a boyish face that made him appear younger than he actually was; he had pale skin, grey hair and ever so slightly pointed ears. He wore grey peasant clothing. Other than his ears and hair there was nothing that made him stand out in terms of appearance. He was handsome enough, but people who did not know him were generally wary of him because of his appearance.

"So close to the big city, can you believe it, Knight?" The youth said.

Knight said nothing as he continued to drive the caravan.

"Imagine all the people who will come to see the show. The Caulder Circus is going to make a pretty pound on this." He said excitedly.

"GARETH LOGAN! What do you think you're doing here, boy?" A rather churlish voice demanded from the wagon.

A middle-aged, thin man emerged from the wagon, anger upon his face. He grabbed the youth, Gareth, by his arm and held him fast.

"I-I was just talking to Knight, master Galtry." Gareth tried to pull away, but could not; the older man's grip was too firm and Gareth was afraid of him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, boy? Knight is our deterrent against bandits, we can't have you distract him." Galtry growled.

"I wasn't distracting you, was I, Knight?" Gareth smiled nervously.

Knight didn't seem to react or even hear them, but a slight, slow shake of his head told them he wasn't distracted.

"See? It's fine." Gareth smiled at Galtry.

"It is not 'fine'. Caulder may be circus master, but I am master of this caravan. My orders are absolute, now get back to your wagon, you little vermin!" Galtry growled as he yanked Gareth away.

"Ow! Alright, fine I'll go." Gar wrenched his arm out of Galtry's grasp. "Who died and made him queen? Sorry buddy, have to go it seems." He whispered to Knight.

Knight said nothing, did not even acknowledge his friend's departure. He had a job to do, a purpose to fulfill, nothing else mattered, his existed needed to be justified; in his own eyes, if in no one else's.

-A road in Spain, sometime close to nightfall-

Two figures traveled the roads of Spain; both robed both with the hoods of their robes over their heads. They traveled to many a town, few of which were avoided because of plague and illness that beset these places. The two had no fear of illness or of bandits, nor of things darker and far more sinister than the nightmares of mortals; creatures foul and terrifying, drinking of mortal blood and feasting upon mortal flesh. There were other things to fear, things that even petrified the dark monsters. The inquisitors, as well as the paladins of the church; these Hands of God were most prevalent in Spain, hunting monsters and heretics. The two came upon a crossroads, a signpost warning of a quarantined village down one path. The two looked down the road and began to travel towards the town. A villager, ill-looking himself, stopped them, though he barely had the strength to stand, let alone bar their path. He spoke clearly, in a broken form of English; it was assuredly not his first language.

"Leave -koff- at once. Sick… many sick –koff-." He said as he struggled to stand.

The shorter of the robed strangers reached out a hand to caress the man's face. It was a slim, feminine hand, with skin so pale that it seemed to glow in the moonlight. The townsperson suddenly felt better, as though he'd been cured.

"How… Who are you?" He asked, speaking Spanish.

"We are travelers." Said the taller of the robed strangers in near perfect Spanish.

The first removed her hood to reveal a beautiful woman, an angelic face framed by jet-black hair.

"I am Angela, my daughter and I seek refuge. We will help the townspeople as best we can." She said.

"Are you demons or angels?" The townsman asked, his voice quivering.

The daughter seemed almost to shudder at the word demon, but Angela smiled reassuringly.

"We seek no souls as compensation, we only wish to help." Angela's voice was soft, gentle. She put her arm around her daughter in a comforting way as the walked into town.

The village was littered with the dead and the dying, as the people were no longer able to bury or even move their dead. Angela moved to those who were beyond help, administering herbs and poultices that would ease their suffering and let them sleep for the last time. The other moved to one whom she could help and once again she extended her hand, her slender flawless hand, to touch the forehead of the dying man. His fever cooled rapidly, the marks of the plague on his face healed quickly. He looked up at his saviour and tears formed in his eyes. He saw her face, a face of an Angel, perfect beauty. She had kind violet eyes, marked with some nameless sorrow, lovely red lips, the colour of blood, that bore a gentle, and yet somehow empty, smile. There was a gem embedded in her forehead and it glowed with an inner light. Black hair glistened in the light and she truly seemed an angel of mercy come to stave off death.

"Tell me… what is your name? Are you an angel?" The man asked.

"My name is Deirdre Roth and I am no more an angel than you. I simply help whomever I can when I can." She said with a kind tone.

And yet her voice, while melodious and beautiful seemed to lack something, as though she were not expressing emotions at all.

Author Notes: In case you couldn't tell:

Ollie Quinn Oliver Queen Green Arrow

Seamus Harper Roy Harper Speedy

The rest I believe you can figure out on your own or you will in ensuing chapters. I wonder if you can pick out the historical differences that exist in this story and our actual history?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

-Hampton Court, England-

"Presenting master Richard Wayne of the Duchy of Gothame." A guard stated as the doors opened to the room.

Queen Elizabeth, white make-up on her face, sunken cheeks, wearing a red wig and looking quite aged. She wore a huge dress with a large ruff and from the style of the dress; the fact that it is low-cut, one would think that she was still proud of her aging body. And she was indeed aged, in her last days it seemed; in one hand she held a cloth into which she occasionally coughed blood. She was with two people; one was a black haired woman of what could only be called statuesque beauty, as though hers had been the face after which the statues of the Greek Goddesses had been modeled. She wore a plain black dress, but she still had an aura of authority and dignity. The other was an older man with tan skin, white hair and a beard. He wore midnight bleu robes with yellow-gold trip and a small yellow-gold cloak. He was closest to the queen, preparing a tea of some sort, the scent of herbs hung in the air. The room was not the throne room, but a sort of meeting room, swords and shields with various crests hung on the wall, as well as the portraits of the queen's predecessors. The three were gathered around a decorated, lavish looking table.

"Welcome, sir Wayne. We trust your voyage was without problems?" The queen said as she motioned for Richard to approach.

"Aside from the gloomy weather, it was not unpleasant, your majesty." Richard bowed before the queen. "Lord Wayne bade me express his regrets for not being able to attend you personally. He bade me tell you that he hopes that I will be able to accommodate you in his stead."

"We are sure that if Bruce has confidence in your ability that you shall be more than adequate for any tasks we have for you." The queen replied. Allow me to introduce you to Diana of Greece, she is touring Europe as an ambassador of peace and goodwill in these troubling times."

The lady, Diana, approached and gave a slight curtsy to Richard. She had grace as well as beauty and Richard could tell just by the way she moved that she had strength and a warrior's skill as well.

"I traveled with Bruce Wayne many years ago and consider him my friend, though we have not spoken in many years." Diana said; her English was near perfect. "I was under the impression that all of his family were deceased."

"Truth be told, I am not related to Lord Wayne by blood. I was an orphan that he adopted. However, Lord Wayne is no longer the last of his line, as his wife has recently given birth to a healthy daughter."

Was it his imagination or did Lady Diana actually seem disappointed to hear that? Perhaps she and Bruce had been more than friends?

"Well, it is good to hear such joyous news. We had wished we could attend his wedding to Lady Selina Kyle, but our health would not permit it. He has done us many favors in the past and is considered a good friend of the crown." Elizabeth said, interrupting Richard's musings. "This man is Doctor Oded Fehr, master of the queen's medicines."

The queen began to have a coughing fit and the good doctor immediately took something from a pouch on his belt and held it close to her majesty's face. Richard could smell the heavy scent of herbs from whatever it was the doctor was holding, some sort of smelling salts perhaps? Whatever it was, it helped greatly with the queen's health and her coughing subsided quickly. Oded said nothing, but nodded to Richard.

"Now cough as to the reason we have called you here; soon a ship from the new world, from our colonies shall arrive. I would like you to escort the passengers for the duration of their stay. They are three young ladies, I'm told; one of which is Virginia Dare, the first child born in the colonies and another is an Indian girl of some import." Elizabeth explained.

"Surely your majesty has other subjects who would be more able to carry out this duty?"

"No young Wayne, we dare not trust them. It has come to our attention that someone seeks to take our life and to damage relations with our colonies. We can trust very few in our kingdom with such things, that is why we sent word to Bruce; he saved our life and proved time and again he was trustworthy and if he trusts you then we shall as well."

"I understand your majesty. I shall do my utmost to ensure your trust as well as the trust of my adoptive father was not misplaced."

The doors creaked open and the trio turned.

"Presenting Lord Slade." A guard called out.

Through the doors strode a man wearing black leather clothes and an eye patch over his right eye. He had white hair, though it was apparent that he was not old, perhaps his late twenties early thirties. Richard could hear a slight sound of metal within the leather. The way he moved gave only hints at his strength and skill. Slade looked at Richard with a cold stare and it seemed as though two mortal enemies locked their gaze, prepared to battle each other to the death.

"You shall leave for London upon the morrow, young Wayne and await their ship. Now please leave us, Lord Slade, Doctor Fehr and our self have much to discuss." The queen said waving Diana and Richard away.

As soon as they had left, Elizabeth looked at the two men and took some papers, reports off the table and handed them to Slade.

"We do not believe the two of you have met before, though we are sure you know each other by reputation. Sir Slade is our intelligencer, Doctor. All plots and counterplots are his to unravel, all words whispered and knives in the dark his to employ. That we are still queen and have not been assassinated a hundred times over is his doing."

"I am proud to serve, majesty." Slade said, staring coldly at Fehr.

"Careful, Sir Slade, for pride goes before a fall." The Queen stated. "We need both of your expertise on this matter. We are sure you are both aware of the troubling news of late; the unnatural colors the sky turns, the deafening thunders and blinding lightnings, though not one drop of rain falls. The beasts grow wild and dangerous and the monsters of the night, werewolves, vampires and the like, have become far more of a plague of late. They say that even Gothame's hunter, the Batman, is unable to keep those monsters of the area in check. You have seen the reports, the earthquakes and other disasters and you have heard the words of the common folk. They say that the world is ending. So what say you Slade to that Slade?"

"I'm afraid Armageddon is rather outside my department, majesty. But, as always, I will do everything in my power to aid you." Slade said with a slight bow.

"We expect nothing less of you sir Slade. Doctor, tell Slade what you communicated to the palace this morning." She commanded.

"First, I should say that there are certain lines of communication that are open only to those who, like myself, study the mystic arts. I cannot reveal these…" Fehr began.

"Good sir doctor, I can tell you every foreigner you have spoken to in the last five years." Slade interrupted curtly.

"There are many kinds of speech, Sir Slade, and not all are privy to the ears of your spies and cutthroats." Fehr stated irate.

"Enough, Fehr. Tell him what you told me." The queen growled.

"I believe we can both agree that there is a coming crisis. If it is the End of Days, I cannot tell; no man shall no the day or the hour after all. However, I do know that there are two key items to this impending disaster; one is a book and the other is… a gem." The Doctor spoke at the last with an amount of uncertainty.

"A gem?" Slade queried.

"I am unable to say anymore about the gem as I am unable to discern its nature. However, to prevent the coming cataclysm, we only need one of the items and the book is very much attainable. It is called 'The Book of Scath' and it…"

"Is in the possession of the Countess Katherina Kamandir of Germany." Slade finished.

"Yes… We must acquire that book and ten I can find a safe way to destroy it." Fehr stated.

"Well then Sir Slade, are your agents up to the task?" The queen demanded.

"Yes, we can do that." Slade said with a sly grin.

-A village near the edge of Spain-

A peasant stood by the road just outside the village. He looked about nervously and waited. He did not need to wait long before hearing the pounding of hoves. He turned to see a small company of soldiers, paladins of the Vatican riding on horseback. The lead knight descended from his horse, a white charger and approached the villager. He was dressed in silver armor and a white tabard with a golden flame crest. He had black hair and a thin goatee. The other knights' armor was plain, and they wore white tabards with the symbol of the cross on them.

"Master Light, I-I wasn't sure you were coming…" The villager groveled.

"Cease your sniveling, half-wit. Are they here?" Light demanded.

"Y-yes lord."

"Good. Pay the wretch." Light said. "And if you're wrong, you'll be the one who burns, half-wit."

They walked through the village, spotting a robed figure in the square, attending to some of the ill and injured. The company came to a halt as Light motioned to one of his officers.

"That would be Deirdre, I can recognize her from the description I was given. Take some of the men and find her mother. The girl is dangerous, but the woman is fairly mundane and shouldn't prove to be any trouble. We'll need her as a hostage if things don't go well here. Now go and don't harm Angela Roth too much." Light ordered.

The officer took two men with him. Light took a moment to look at Deirdre; he almost admired her beauty. But the moment was short; he was a soldier and had a job to do.

"In the name of God and the Vatican, Deirdre Roth, you are hereby under arrest for heresy, witchcraft and for being an abomination under God as a child of the Devil. You are to submit yourself to us peacefully. If you do not, we will use force." Light shouted.

Deirdre looked up at the armed men then said something to the people around her, motioning them off. She stood and took several steps towards Light, but advanced no further.

"I have no wish to go with you and I do not want to cause you harm, so please, do not try to force me to go with you." Deirdre said calmly.

"TAKE HER!" Light ordered, pointing at her.

The knights unsheathed their weapons and charged. Deirdre glanced over at some barrels and motioned towards them. The barrels were incased in a dark energy and flung at the soldiers charging at her. Three fell, knocked down by the barrels, but another soldier leapt over his fallen comrades, brandishing his blade. Deirdre raised a hand and a shield of dark energy blocked the blow. She moved back, using a dark shield to block each blow with each step. Suddenly she stepped aside and used her power to pull the knight forward, hurtling him into the fountain of the square. A surprise attack from the side almost caught her off-guard and the blade nicked her, drawing blood. She motioned towards the soldier whom had cut her and he flew threw the air as though he'd been kicked by a horse. She took a moment to heal the cut and then returned to face her attackers.

"You idiots!" Light barked. "We want to capture her, not kill her!"

At the sound of heavy footsteps, Light turned to see the men he'd sent off earlier returning with Angela Roth. She was struggling against their grip but to no avail. Light smiled maliciously and grabbed Angela, holding her firmly with one arm. He took out a knife and put it to her throat; he struggles and protests did not stop, but they did become more subdued.

"ENOUGH!" Light shouted.

The soldiers stopped their attack and Deirdre looked at Light and let out a small gasp, seeing her mother prisoner.

"You will surrender yourself to us peacefully or your mother dies. You don't want that, now do you? And I'd advise against trying your witchcraft against me; one false move and her throat is slit." Light said as he pressed the dagger to Angela's throat, without cutting her.

"How do I know you won't kill her once I've surrendered?" Deirdre asked.

"I give you my word, I won't kill her. In the name of God, I swear I wont." Light assured her.

"I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I'm a man of God and in the end you have no choice, if you wish her to live."

"If I surrender, you'll release her? You won't kill her?" She asked once again.

"I swear to God, I will release her and I will not kill her."

"Deirdre, NO!" Angela cried out.

Deirdre's arms fell to her side and she seemed dejected, very much defeated.

"I surrender." She said, almost bitterly.

Two of the knights practically leapt on her as they put her in shackles, putting an ornate collar on her neck.

"The Inquisitor has been prepared for you, that collar will prevent your witchcraft. Now, get the horses, we must return soon." Light barked orders as another knight took Angela into custody.

"Wait! You said you would release my mother." Deirdre called out.

"And I will; I will release her into the care of the monks when we reach Domdaniel." Light laughed. "And then she will be burned at the stake for having fornicated with the devil and having conceived an abomination."

"You lied! You said you wouldn't kill her!"

"I am not going to kill her, the monks and the fire will do that. See? I have kept my word, to the letter." He laughed maliciously.

* * *

Author Notes: Big revelations and stuff in this chapter; we see that Slade is Queen Elizabeth's right hand man and Doctor Light is a paladin in service of the church. Nifty twists huh? As well as a cameo appearance by Wonder Woman (Diana) and a brief mention of the Batman we also have Oded Fehr. That's the name of an actual voice actor and I have my reasons for using that name. Should you happen to know who's voice he plays, I ask that you keep it to yourself for now; all shall be explained in time. And should the man in question happen to see this, I hope he has no qualms about my use of his name. Another name that has appeared is Katherina Kamandir and though you have no idea who she is now, later you will see that she has indeed appeared in the cartoon. Never fear, I'll always tell you who a person is, even if you've figured it out for yourself. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

-A forest outside London-

It was a moonless night and being such, what happened was completely unexpected. A tavern in London: a dark atmosphere with adequate lighting, rather cozy. One of the patrons had been acting rather strangely; his hands had been shaking, he was sweaty faced and appeared extremely nervous and anxious. He seemed dirty, smelly and unkempt, but who cared? His gold was as good as everyone else's and truth be told, this one's hygiene was no worse than any of the other patrons; it was his behavior that made him truly stand out. Suddenly, the man freaked out, howling in pain, in agony. He stood and started flailing about, he broke the mug he held with one hand. A serving girl, a pretty young lass, attempted to calm him down, but as soon as she approached she was knocked away. The man had inhuman strength, and had the girl stuck the wall she surely would have died, save for the roguish red-haired archer that leapt up to save her. The archer's companion, wearing a black cloak and hood rushed towards the man. The man, snarling and foaming at the mouth like a rabid beast, ran out the door, the hooded man followed him. The serving girl mumbled nervous thanks to the archer, who grinned and whispered his idea of thanks into her ear at which she blushed furiously, but that was all the acquiescence he needed as he promised to return and dashed off after his friend.

The man stopped at the outskirts of the city, looking at the moonless sky and that's when he began to change. He grew taller, his clothes ripped apart as his muscles bulged and grew, his skin blackened covered with a thick coat of fur, his face pushed outwards, the jaw and skin stretching into a lupine muzzle and his teeth became sharp fangs. The werewolf stood, breathing heavily, ready to attack. It howled loudly; the hunt was now on.

Later, near the dark forest outside the city, the archer, Seamus Harper, waited, arrow knocked.

"Here doggy, here doggy!" He called mockingly.

A snarl and a low growl gave way the beast's location. He whipped around and let the arrow fly. The beast had just leapt out at him and could not dodge it; it struck the werewolf in its right eye, the force of the arrow knocked the beast slightly off course, allowing Seamus to jump out of the way. He had three more arrows knocked and ready to fire before the monster even hit the ground. The beast slowly rose to its feet and grasped the shaft of the arrow. As it pulled the projectile out, the eye it had pierced came with it. A viscous liquid spurted from the eye and the eye was suddenly sucked of the arrowhead and back into the socket; the beast blinked and was completely healed. It threw away the arrow and turned towards Seamus.

"Oy! The least you coulda done was give that back you know." Seamus smirked.

The beast roared and charged, but his time the archer was ready for it. He jumped, rebounding several times off of two adjacent trees, until he was at a greater height than the beast and then he somersaulted above its head, firing arrows at it all the while with uncanny speed. He was in a crouched position when he landed another arrow knocked and ready to fire. The beast had taken most of the arrows in the back and while they had hurt the monster, it did not bleed.

"I'll be wanting those back too." Seamus smiled.

The beast didn't even bother to try and remove the arrows. Instead it snarled and turned towards him. An object whizzed out of the darkness at a descending and cut deep into the beast's shoulder before returning to the one who threw it. The wound bled profusely and did not heal, the monster whined in a dog-like manner before snarling and growling as it turned around.

In the tree, standing on a high branch, stood Richard. He was dressed in a crimson hard leather shirt with a symbol of a bird over his heart, dark green pants along with black metal tipped boots with black greaves as well as black metal gauntlets, a flowing black cape and a black mask. He wore a belt with many pouches holding various vials and tools as well as too rods strapped to his thighs. With a swift motion he slipped the boomerang he caught into its pocket holder in his cape. He grabbed the two rods and brought them up in a defensive pose. The beast snarled as it leapt at Richard. It's super-human strength allowed it to reach and destroy the branch upon which Richard stood, but not before he had leapt off, flipping over the beast's head. He landed easily; the two rods uttered a 'snikt' noise, two sharp bright metal points protruded from the ends of each rod, much like a stake. He charged the beast a stabbed it with one of the stakes in the back and then raked it across the monster's back up until it's spine and then pulled it out; another bleeding wound that would not heal. The beast turned and Richard slashed at it, the sharp points easily parting its flesh across its abdomen. Richard jumped back and then tried to strike it with a roundhouse kick. The beast caught him, lifted him off the ground. Richard's face rose to thing monster's chest and he could smell the creature's fetid breath. He smiled confidently and then jammed the two stakes into the beast's chest. The beast howled in rage and dropped Richard, who, prepared for this, rolled to his feet and then jump kicked the beast, pushing the stake even further into its chest.

The werewolf stumbled backwards and halted as it bumped against a tree. It slumped to the ground, quite dead. Its muscles shrank as they atrophied, fur began to fall out and the skin beneath took on a deathly pallor. The skin tore, rotted and turned to dust; its internal organs, muscles and eyeballs liquefied; the cartilage dissolved and the bones collapsed in a pile. Richard stepped over to the pile and retrieved the rods, retracted the points on the tips, returned them to the leather straps on his thighs and turned away. Seamus retrieved his arrows, those that weren't broken and joined his friend.

"Care to tell me what your secret was back there? How'd you hurt it?" Seamus asked.

"Silver alloy, it's effective against vampires, werewolves and many other supernatural monsters."

"Well 'scuse me! I'm used to fighting human monsters, so I didn't know. No need to be snippy."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Richard demanded curtly.

"You mean taking it on by myself? I could handle it." Seamus brushed away his friends concern with his ever-confident smile.

"It would have killed you."

"It couldn't 'a killed me."

"And if it had bitten you, I would have killed you."

"Heh, never would'a happened. But, those monsters are supposed to only come out during the full moon, aren't they? There isn't even a moon tonight."

"Dark times. You know what people say as well as I."

"You buy into this 'End 'o tha world' nonsense?"

"Honestly, I don't know anymore. Strange weather, monsters coming out when they shouldn't… something's wrong with the world, that's for certain."

"And if there was, what can we do about it, we mere mortals? We just do our job and if the end comes, well, there's this girl I know in whose bed I'd like to be when the world ends."

-London, Docks-

Richard hurried into the docks after having changed back to his civilian clothes; the ship, the Virginia Maid was to dock this evening and he was to be there to great its passengers. However, he did have time for a short meeting with one of Seamus' oversea contacts.

At the very edge of the docks, the red-clad archer was speaking with, what seemed to be a half-naked youth, but as Richard approached he saw that it was not a human at all. The person had long, black hair that was slick with water, his eyes had sclera blacker than a starless and moonless sky, he had fins on his forearms and legs, he was thin with slight musculature and had three long slits just under his pectoral muscles on either side of him that were, in fact, gills. He had small, nearly imperceptible fish scales all over his body, but unless he suffered close inspection one would only see natural human skin. He wore simple, but slightly torn shorts and wielded a trident.

"Richard, come here." Seamus motioned him over. "This is Tempest, he has some interesting information to tell you."

"Virginia Dare is not the one in most danger, coming here." Tempest stated bluntly.

"What makes you say that?" Richard asked.

"Dare is a pawn here, someone who is of little importance as an individual and who is greatly important as a symbol. Slade's organization will ensure her good health, for she is, for the time being, of no value to anyone dead. Rather it is the Indian girl, Starfire, who has captured the people's interests."

"Who is interested in her?" Richard asked.

"Well, there's the usual batch who're interested in both Dare and Starfire; the King of Spain, the Tsar, those types. They're interested in all kinds of stuff though, so it's no surprise." Seamus replied.

"The one who seems to be truly interested in her is the countess of Nietzscheia, Katherina Kamandir. There have been more than a few Nietzcheian spies hanging around the oceans, crossing over to the New World at her orders, to find out about Starfire. This has been going on for a bout a year now." Tempest continued.

"That doesn't necessarily mean that this Starfire is in any danger." Richard interjected calmly.

"Also, the Inquisition is casting its eyes this way of late. Somehow I think they're more interested in the heretic non-believer Indian girl than they are in the proper Christian child, Dare." Seamus said.

Tempest turned towards the water, prepared to leave, but he stopped and glanced back at the two youths.

"One more thing… That girl, Starfire… she isn't human." Tempest said before jumping in the water.

"Now what do you suppose he meant by that?" Seamus asked Richard.

"Does it matter? It seems our ship has come in." Richard said, pointing at a docking ship. "Come on."

"He mentioned Slade before… It seems that he might be the real power in England now." Seamus said as he walked beside Richard.

Richard glanced at him, but said nothing.

"The Queen's been giving him more and more authority, which is understandable her being ill and all. The Lords are going to him for favours instead of going to Her Majesty and even the army has started taking their orders from him. And if that weren't enough, the people appear to support him as well, talking about him as if he were the Queen's heir." Seamus continued.

"So?" Richard asked curtly.

"So we have to be careful; I've not been able to find how far his spy network goes. Damn me, but I haven't even been able to find out who works for him locally. Worse still, I can't find out his motives; sure, he seems loyal to the Queen, follows her orders when she gives, seems to uphold her wishes but… There's nothing else, like before he started working for Her Majesty, he didn't exist."

"Then we'll have to keep an eye out for him, wont we?" Richard replied as he stopped at the peer the Virginia Maid was docked at.

Seamus said nothing, waiting for its passengers to disembark. The gangplank was lowered and porters and crewmembers came to and from the ship, refilling supplies and unloading cargo. Finally the three women came off the ship. First was Virginia Dare, a young girl of fourteen years, on the verge of blossoming into a young woman. She wore a simple white cotton dress; she had platinum blond hair and blue eyes. She seemed timid, her eyes darting this way and that, taking all the sites of England nervously.

The Second who came off the ship was Starfire, elegant, proud, beautiful and very a strange sight in England. Her presence was warm and yet commanding, confident and yet friendly, approachable even.

"So that's a savage, eh? I wonder how 'savage' she would be in the bed chamber." Seamus whispered to Richard.

His comments were met with an elbow to his ribs at which he grunted in pain and tried not to show any other reaction.

"This is why I don't like working with you; you can never keep your mind on the job." Richard admonished him.

The last off the ship was Tara Marks as aloof and disgruntled as always. Her eyes looked about the docks as well, not out of nervousness, shyness or fear, but out of vigilance.

"Welcome to England, miss Dare. I am Richard Wayne, I was sent by the Queen to escort you during your stay." Richard greeted them.

"I-I hope Her Majesty is well and I thank her and you for your most generous hospitality." Virginia replied. "These are my companions, Starfire and Tara Marks."

Tara nodded curtly, her expression showing no gratitude. Starfire gifted Richard with a warm smile as greeting.

"A pleasure." Richard said to the two ladies. "Unfortunately, Her Majesty will not be able to receive you at this late hour. I have acquired lodgings at an inn where we will stay this evening. If you would please follow me?"

Before they started off towards the inn, Seamus stepped up, took Virginia's hand and kissed it.

"Milady, I am Seamus Harper, vassal to Sir Oliver Quinn of Ireland. It is an honour and a pleasure to make the acquaintance of such a noble lady." He said.

"Oliver Quinn? The sailors spoke of him a great deal, calling him the Green Hood. They spoke of him as a hero. You must have many amazing tales to tell of him." Virginia said excitedly.

"Speaking of stories," He said, moving to Starfire. "I am sure you have a great many fascinating tales to tell."

"My people have many stories, if you'd like me to tell them." Starfire replied in a partially confused, partially intrigued manner.

Seamus moved to Tara and extended his hand to take hers, but she knocked it away, looking at him coolly.

"I'm out of your league, boy." She told him.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said. If his ego was wounded, he showed none of it. He walked up to Richard and smirked. "I think she likes me."

* * *

Author notes:

Another chapter and another cameo with Tempest (Aqualad). The description of Tempest is based off a redesign of that character done by Turin-the-Forsaken on deviantArt. Harper (Speedy) makes another guest appearance; I hope I didn't go overboard with his skirt chasing. To me it seems appropriate, but you might have a different opinion.

Also, Katherina Kamandir has been mentioned again, in relation to Starfire. You've just been given a hint as to who she is, but be quiet if you've figured it out please. And Nietzscheia is a fictional place created by me. If any body knows of a place in Germany that would better suit the story, please tell me.

Last thing:

Beast Boy: Smashing, love! Jolly good laugh... Oh dear! I'm a tommy, a limey, a… a Brit!

Me: And this time it isn't because of hypno screens.

BB: You're just jealous because I sound like a rock star.

Me: Am not.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

-Westminster-

Someone walked the back streets near a pub called the Moor's Head Tavern. It was after dark and the streets were dimly lit and sinister shadows were cast over the streets. This hour, this place where the homeless, the destitute and the drunk, when ladies-of-the-night plied their trade, but all shied away from the man; his very presence gave off a sense of danger. All knew him, or at least recognized him from his description, many of them had been questioned, interrogated would be a better word, by him and rumormongers were well compensated for their information, should it hold value and truth. Lord Slade, Her Majesty's Intelligence and many considered him to be the most powerful, and the most dangerous man in Europe. The way he walked, the aura he gave off, suggested that, should he desire it, he could come and go completely unnoticed, totally hidden, through these streets, that he wanted to be seen. There were many questions whispered; how many agents did he have working for him? Were they truly spread all over the world? Who worked for him? Who were they watching? What were they reporting to Slade?

A young man waited for Slade near the entrance to the pub; he wore faded red clothes and was dressed similar to a page, a royal attendant. He had black hair and dark eyes, his most noticeable feature was his chin, his lower jaw seemed rather large, bordering on the ridiculous.

"My Lord, I have a message for you." The adolescent said with a very thick Scottish accent.

Slade took the small letter that the young man handed to him and glanced at the seal upon it before opening it. He took a mere moment to read what was entailed within the missive before putting in a small pouch on his belt.

"Is the room ready, William?" Slade asked.

"It should be ready momentarily, sir. If I may ask, sir, who are we to meat?" William asked.

"You may ask, but I'll not answer. In this business of spies and cutthroats, such information is of great value and should never be given away; you would do well to remember that." Slade replied.

"Yes sir." William bowed slightly.

They entered the pub; it was a moderately well lit place, despite the large fire in the fireplace. There were multiple tables scattered all over and many patrons were enjoying the atmosphere. In one corner there was a bard playing for a group of people, with a fair barmaid accompanying his tune, her voice, though beautiful, was nervous and shaky. In another corner a lovely wench giggled as a man fondled her generous bosom; from her dress and appearance she was obviously entertainment the man had bought had paid for on the streets. Scattered all about there were people enjoying their ale in deep conversation about the state of the world. The air was thick with tobacco smoke, the stench of ale and sweat and the noise of conversation and music. Slade and William walked through the room. Slade, though he did not look it, had extended his senses, listening to every snippet of conversation, drinking in the information, taking in every sight, sound and smell.

"…And I if the Queen had issue, the country… nay the whole world would not be in such a perilous state." One patron said to his friend.

"If you say so." His friend snorted.

"I do say so." The first man retorted indignantly.

"You're a fool. This is the wrath of God; it isn't because of anything anybody did, it's just the Time of Judgment, the end of the world." The second man retorted.

Many of the conversations were like this, people speaking of the end of the world. A portly middle aged man, the tavern keeper, approached Slade and William.

"Lord Slade?" He asked in somewhat hushed tones. "The room you asked for is ready. There's no fire and there's an inkwell, pen and paper on the table, just as you asked."

"Excellent." Slade stated, dropping a gold coin into the tavern keeper's hand. "We do not wish to be disturbed."

The two went to a room at the top of the tavern stairs and entered; Slade locked the door behind him and William shuttered the lantern on the table.

"Sir… why must we lock the door and make the room dark? Won't it be difficult if not impossible for the contact to come here when the room is like this?" William asked.

"I find that the darkness is a better atmosphere for such a meeting." A voice said from the darkness.

William leapt back, startled.

'_When did he get here?'_ He thought to himself.

The figure advanced and a white mask skull mask with a blood crimson 'X' on it became visible. He was wearing a hood and cloak, which blended perfectly with the darkness around him. William could only assume the person was male, as the mask muffled the newcomers voice.

"Who's this kid?" The masked man asked with a chuckle.

"This is my aide, an agent from Scotland; his name is William Líonmhar. You may speak in front of him as you would normally. William, this is the man we've been waiting for, he is called Red X." Slade said simply, putting a barely noticeable emphasis on certain words.

Red X; everyone had heard the name, an assassin who never left a trace. His very existence was a mere rumour and none could say they had actually met him. He was equated with the wrath of God, an infallible, unstoppable and precise killer. Why he would kill was never known, his actions and reputation instilled fear in all, even if no one could actually confirm he in fact existed. And here he stood, that legendary killer, about to engage in verbal discourse with the Queen's right hand man. Red X gazed at William, seemed too size him up and William could swear that the assassin was smirking behind his mask.

"I see… Well then, Slade, rumour has it, you're after something, something only I can acquire." Red X stated slyly.

"Indeed…" Slade replied calmly. "What do you know about the Book of Scath?"

"No more than you, I would guess. The Inquisition really wants to get their hands on it; it may be that their book-burners are getting restless. The Vatican, however has sent one of its own men to check out the claims of a 'heretical book'." Red X said. "The book, as you know, is in the possession of Countess Kamandir of Germany and since it has value, you know Lady Blackfire will not give it up so easily."

"Lady Blackfire?" William asked.

"It's what the countess is more commonly known as in the circles I travel." Red X replied.

"Who has the Vatican sent?" Slade interjected.

"A cardinal by the name of Mumbos, or so I've heard. He's taking quite a bit of time to analyze the book and I've heard rumors that he's something of a dabbler in the dark arts, so it may be that he's trying to use it for his own gain, to increase his own power before he turns it in. You want me to retrieve the book?" Red X said.

"Yes, retrieve the book as fast as you can and return it to me." Slade replied.

"And my payment?"

"The usual. Half now, half upon delivery." Slade said, taking a cherry stone-sized gem out of his pouch.

Slade tossed the gem into the air towards Red X, but William did not see the assassin move, nor did he hear the gem hit the ground; it simply vanished into the dark.

"Are business is concluded… Until next we meet, Lord Slade." Red X said, calling Slade by his title for the first time.

Red X stepped back into the darkness, bowing as he did. After Red X vanished into the darkness, Slade waited a mere moment before un-shuttering the lantern; there was no one other than himself and William in the room and the young man could not for the life of him see how the assassin could have gotten out.

"What manner of… of man was that?" He asked Slade nervously.

"One who has chosen to work for me and for England and not her enemies. That is all you need to know." Slade replied as he sat down to the table.

Slade wrote a brief message on the paper, waited for the ink to dry and then sealed it with a wax seal with his mark on it. The two men then left the pub, Slade nodding to the tavern keeper, indicating he was finished with the room. Outside, Slade gave the missive to William.

"This is a reply to that note you delivered to me, make sure my agent receives it. Once you are done you are to keep an eye on the girl from the New World. When I have need of you, I will summon you." Slade said.

The youth took the letter and left on his way, saluting as he did. Slade stood in an empty alley, almost completely alone.

"He's gone and no one can hear us. Now… is there anything else you need to tell me?" Red X said, stepping out of the shadows.

"The book must be recovered at all costs, this mission must have your full attention and highest priority. You cannot let the church have it." Slade stated, a bit more forcefully than before.

"Well then, even I had not suspected how valuable this book could be… Why specify the church?"

"The church, the Vatican, the Inquisitors, they have been… compromised and they cannot be trusted. You are to take the book to an Oded Fehr once you have retrieved it."

"The good doctor? Yes, I know where he lives. Delivery, however, will cost you more."

"You will receive double your normal payment; after you have completed your task, an agent of mine will meet you at the third designated location with the remainder of your payment. And should you fail… there will be no place on earth, no shadows dark enough to hide you from my wrath." Slade said with deadly calm.

"Sounds like it might be a challenge… good, I was getting bored." Red X laughed as he vanished once more into the darkness.

-A group of circus tents, some distance from Hampton Court, Evening-

A day or two after the girls from the New World had arrived in Hampton Court they had been scheduled to have an audience with Her Majesty, the Queen; however, the Queen had been occupied and could not see them that day. A page suggested they seek out a circus that had recently been setup outside of town. Richard, ever the dutiful nobleman, accompanied them.

The Caulder Traveling Circus, a sideshow carnival, which showed off its employees' unique, remarkable and sometimes freaky talents. There was Mento the Magician, who marveled the masses with many mind tricks. With the aid of his lovely assistant, he did all kinds of tricks, levitation, mind reading and other abilities of mental mastery. Richard had seen many illusionists, but for the life of him, he could not discern how Mento did some of his tricks. The lovely assistant, an attractive young lass named Rita Farr seemed to have an elastic body as she contorted herself into seemingly impossible positions, which elicited groans of empathy and gasps of awe from the audience. She was also a superior gymnast, wowing the crowd with feats of aerial daring-do on the trapeze. There was a strong man whose strength seemed inhuman as he lifted several ridiculously heavy looking objects at once. There was an escape artist who dazzled the crowd by appearing to have been in two places at once during his show. Lastly there was a gray-skinned jester, he told jokes, many laughed and some did not. Tara looked like she was trying not to laugh, which was funny in and of itself. The jester's act ended in a mock fight as the strong man and the escape artist started to boo the jester and pelt him with vegetables. It was clear that it was part of the act as the jester engaged in hilarious pratfalls as he tried to 'get away' from his 'assailants'.

"This is most amusing. I have never seen entertainment like this before." Starfire laughed.

"You don't have any entertainment back in your… village?" Richard grasped for the right word, without trying to sound offensive.

"Oh certainly, but nothing like this." She answered gaily.

The audience laughed heartily as the trio exited the tent. They quieted down as the ringmaster, Niles Caulder, entered the tent.

He was a stout man with red hair and a beard; he could not walk so he needed to be carried by the strong man into the tent. He was still strong as his deep voice carried enough to be heard by all.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" He began. "You have partaken of our entertainment and enjoyed yourself greatly, which gives us poor entertainers the greatest delight. There is one final show we would like to present to you this evening; tonight we shall re-enact the battle of St-George as he fought the monstrous dragon. And now, I present, playing the part of St-George, KNIGHT!"

The audience hooted, hollered and applauded as the heavily armored Knight walked in, a tower shield in one hand and a mace in the other. They would have had him come in on horseback, but there was no horse strong enough to carry him. He cast quite the imposing figure with his armored form.

"And now, presenting a beast thought extinct, something that is one-of-a-kind that you'll not see anywhere else… presenting the DRAGON!"

The crowd gasped and cried out in fear as something thumped into the tent. It was about the size of a large horse, with powerful legs and a large, wickedly curved claw on each foot. With short arms and claws, more appropriate for holding prey than for ripping and a long lizard-like head and powerful tail, it had a formidable appearance. This was no dragon, but rather a velociraptor; however, this information was not known in that era, so to them, it was indeed a dragon. The gray-scaled creature let out a shrieking roar to the crowd, revealing sharp teeth. The strong man, carrying master Caulder, stepped back and let the dragon and knight battle it out. The lizard charged forward, biting and gnashing at Knight. Knight fended it off with his shield and, despite his bulk, moved deftly with agility to avoid being bitten by the beast. The crowd shouted and cried out during this battle, its fervor rising with each blow. The beast for its own part did not fight like a beast, but quite intelligently as it lashed out. It kicked at the shield, its long hooked claw catching the shield; it was able to wrench it out of Knights hands. Knight attempted to retaliate with the mace, but the lizard was able to chomp down on the handle and yanked it away from Knight. The beast held back for a moment, hesitated and the leaped forward; it jumped up, supporting itself on its tail and then began to repeatedly kick Knight. Knight, bashed continuously backed away step by step, until the beast let out a more powerful kick, knocking Knight off his feet. The beast leapt onto knight, pinning him to the ground and lunged forward to take a bite out of him. Knight raised his arm and allowed the beast to harmlessly bite into the armored arm. He pushed the beast off of him and rolled away; the beast lots it's footing a fell, rolling back up to its feet. It let out another shrieking roar and charged at Knight, who was ready for it. He jumped to one side and then wrapped his arms around the lizard's neck; he handled it like a bullfighter, digging his heals into the ground to slow it down and pulling its head in order to steer it. They both crashed violently and loudly into the unused stands and the beast fell and seemed to have been defeated. Knight rose and walked to the center of the tent. The audience cheered and clapped at his victory, until they say the beast getting up. It tromped and stomped towards Knight and the people shouted and called to him, trying to warn him, for his back was turned to the beast. The beast did not attack however, it walked up beside Knight and bowed to the people, as though it were completely domesticated or something. The people gaped at the beast and Knight patted it on the head, as though in assurance to the audience, who then clapped and cheered at the spectacle.

After the show ended and the people had all gone home, the crew had begun to put away the tents and trailers and such. They would be staying in the area for a while, but they had made enough money to last for quite some time. Knight and Gareth walked side by side towards master Caulder's wagon.

"Nice show tonight, Gar." Mento called out to him.

"Thanks." Gareth waved.

"You did wonderfully, Gar." Rita Farr, the aerial acrobat and Mento's assistant said as she passed by, kissing Gar on the cheek.

"Sorry about nailing you in the head with the cabbage, Gar." The strong man, Clifford Steele, chuckled.

"Stuff happens, 'sides, you didn't hit me that hard."

"Hope Knight didn't beat you up too badly during that little act. It looked pretty rough out there." Stephen Trainor, the escape artist, called out.

"It was no big deal." Gareth said and then under his breath… "I'll just be real sore tomorrow morning"

"Sorry." Knight whispered in a deadpan tone. No matter what he said, Knight always spoke in a whisper and without emotion, if at all. His actions spoke for him and he was a gentle person, really.

"No worries, I'm tough and that form was pretty solidly built… Now, after you?" Gareth said, holding the door to Caulder's wagon open for Knight.

* * *

Author Notes: Another chapter come and gone and more cameo appearances and revelations. For the record, Red X is not Richard Wayne, they are two completely different people, they've never even met. We now know that the famed Countess is actually Blackfire… don't you just wonder what she'll be doing in the story? And Cardinal Mumbos, quite the ostentatious appointment don't you think? To figure out who William Líonmhar is, just translate 'líonmhar' into English, it's a Gaelic word. And the circus performers? I doubt you'd be able to figure it out, so I'll tell you: before he was a Titan, Beast Boy, Garfield Logan, was in another superhero group, called the Doom Patrol, which have been presented in this chapter. They aren't going to have any major roles in the story, though. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 3

-Domdaniel, Spain-

The massive fortress of Domdaniel stood forebodingly on a small island off the coast of Spain. It was a place around which rumors swirled and people spoke dark things about it in whispered tones. It had been blessed by the Catholic Church, by the Pope himself, though that only increased the whispered fears that were spoken about that place. This place was a house of the Inquisition, where the High Inquisitor himself made his abode. The fortress was surrounded by a nigh impenetrable wall and it had a courtyard, filled with stakes where the heretics and unrepentant sinners would burn. In the early misty mornings, some monks would swear they could see spirits tied to those stakes, burning for all eternity. And they reveled in it, the idea that these sinners would burn for all eternity; it was the fate they deserved after all. The fortress housed barracks for the knights, living quarters for the monks a large library for the scribes and a huge tower where those yet to be burned for their sins were held. In one of the cells Deirdre Roth was held. She had been stripped of most of her clothes and what she had was barely decent rags. She was chained to the wall and while there was quite a length of chain from her manacles on her hands and ankles and she could move around, she could never be comfortable. The atmosphere was damp, but not quite cold; it was definitely uncomfortable. As well, she still wore that magic inhibiting collar, so there was no escape for her. The conditions of her cell were made to break her spirit, to make her more compliant so that she would 'admit her sins'. However, she was strong of will and would not bow to them so easily.

The guards had said they'd burned a warlock that morning; a warlock named Rorek. They had spoken in disappointed tones as the young man had not said a word, not even screamed, nor repented at the last moment as he burned. Deirdre knew the boy, or rather had spoken to him as he had been in the cell next to hers. He was an educated young man with an eloquent way of speaking. He was kind and sympathetic and they spoke to each other, expecting nothing more than to be listened to. Then the monks came to take Rorek away, Deirdre caught a glimpse of him; a young man, very thin as the guards had been starving him, with fine white hair and penetrating blue eyes. He looked at her, catching her eye and something in his look was calm, as though asking her not to forget him. The second person they took that morning was Angela, her mother. The chains restricted her, but she peered out the window hoping to see her one last time. Angela had looked up as she was tied to the stake and perhaps she was imagining things but it seemed to Deirdre that Angela saw her and smiled a brave smile, her eyes filled with sorrow. Arthur Light, the paladin who had caught them both, who had sworn an oath to his god that he would release Angela if Deirdre came peacefully and then 'released' her into the custody of the monks, stepped up to the stakes, he spoke, though Deirdre could not hear it. She did not need to see him, to know his lips were twisted into the cruel smile of a religious fanatic about to punish a 'wicked' and 'sinful' soul. Light stepped back and wrenched the torch out of the brother's hand. Had Angela said something to irk the knight? He bent done and laid the flame to the straw and wood. Deirdre turned away and she let herself feel. She had a 'gift', though at times it could seem like a 'curse', she could feel the emotions of others, she knew what they felt or she could, if she didn't shut herself away, for those emotions, like her own, could prove very dangerous, to her and those around her. However, known with her powers sealed, she let herself feel and the pain was crushing. Though they uttered no sound, their souls screamed out in pain and agony, she could feel the intense hatred of the monks and knights; Light's hatred was like a bright light, hot and consuming, burning and destroying. Once she had let them in, she couldn't shut the pain, the sorrow, the suffering out, she huddled in a corner as best she could and put her hands over her ears. It did not shut out the screams, nor the sorrow, nor the pain and the emotions welled up inside her, she could feel the dark power within her, the monster trying to escape, though the seal of the collar was far too strong. She cried for her mother, for Rorek and for all those who had burned at the stake for the sake of Christianity, but she also cried for herself, for she felt there was no hope.

Elsewhere in the fortress, the Grand Inquisitor dictated messages to one of his messengers. He was a tall man who seemed to give off a fatherly aura, that would make all of his subordinates trust him implicitly he seemed kind and gentle and was beloved by all; even some of the heretics locked in the tower could not bring themselves to hate the Grand Inquisitor. He had white hair, slicked back and a finely chiseled, clean-shaven face that seemed neither old nor young. He had penetrating dark eyes that seemed to see all and no one could hide secrets from him. He wore plain white robes, appropriate for a monk, though many said he deserved far grander things. The young man writing down, the Inquisitor's message was a red haired, thin young man dressed in red traveler's clothes. He had new boots that seemed to have hardly been used, but his clothes were dust ridden and wind worn. He had a fair, youthful face and a thin lanky body, a youth far shy of manhood only beginning his teen years. He was not alone, however, for another young man, the twin of the first stood nearby. The twins were the personal messengers of the Grand Inquisitor and they traveled all over Europe and beyond in his service. The Grand Inquisitor finished his dictation and motioned for the boy to bring the note to him. He looked it over and nodded, then placed it in an envelope and sealed it, handing it back to the boy. He took the letter with a slight bow and turned to his twin. The clasped each other's hand and dashed off, moving faster than the human eye could track. The Grand Inquisitor stood in silence and the door to his study opened. A young lady, a nun entered the room. She was petite with pale skin and unusual violet eyes and she wore a dark purple nun's habit.

"Grand Inquisitor, master Light is here to see you." She spoke in hushed tones.

"Please send him in, sister Jinx." The Grand Inquisitor beckoned in a light baritone voice.

Sir Light, still dressed in his radiant armor walked in once sister Jinx opened the door for him. His arrogant swagger and self-satisfied grin belied his actions in the courtyard.

"You wished to see me brother Blo…" Light Began.

"Please, Sir Light, you must remember I am your superior and you must refer to me by my title." The Grand Inquisitor said with an almost bemused tone.

"My apologies Bro… err… Grand Inquisitor."

"Yes… I need to discuss your behavior this morning. You realize it is not your place to purify sinners, only to apprehend them?"

"Yes Grand Inquisitor." Light responded, duly chastised.

"Am I also to understand that you promised to release the woman, Angela, if Deirdre came willingly?"

"Grand Inquisitor, she was a heretic! Surely you are not suggesting that I should have let her go?" Light lost his composure and raised his voice.

"Of course not, but it may have served us better to try and convert her before we purified her. We must speak to Deirdre now; I shall show you a better way to handle things. We cannot bring our Lord's Words to the masses by fire, sword and blood alone." The Grand Inquisitor said calmly.

The Grand Inquisitor exited the room, heading towards the tower; Light and Jinx following close behind. A young monk handed the Inquisitor a soft robe and the Inquisitor hand the robe to Jinx who took and held it with great care. At the base of the tower, Light took the cell keys from the warden; they would need to open the door. The Grand Inquisitor took the keys to unlock her chains; Light was shocked and seemed about to say something, but a glance from the Inquisitor silenced him. They passed through the tower, walking by cells of prisoners, heretics and some begged pleaded to be released and many were silent, no longer of the strength nor of the strength of will to do or say anything. They climbed the tower steps, Deirdre's cell being near the top. When they reached it, Light unlocked the wooden door, opened the cell and the Inquisitor stepped inside, shortly followed by Jinx and Light.

"Ah, my dear, how are you today?" The Inquisitor asked gently.

Deirdre looked up from her corner, but said nothing.

"Poor lost child… this cell is truly no place for you, but I do what I must; your mother brought you up in confusion, corruption, in sin, it is my place to try and bring you to the righteous path. In the end, you must convert… or I will be forced to purify you." The Inquisitor said gently as he knelt beside Deirdre.

He spoke in a gentle, fatherly manner, but Raven shied away as he reached for her. His aura, the beneficent, sickened her. Not that she was disgusted by him, his presence of reassurance made her want to trust him, trust his words, but his presence made her feel sick, as though she would vomit.

"You do not trust me…" The Inquisitor said, misinterpreting her reaction. "Understandable, but I can offer you consolation. I can give you proof of my words."

He motioned Jinx over, who approached, kneeling beside Deirdre.

"Jinx was a child much like you; lost and raised by heretics, demon worshippers in an eastern Indian temple. She was feared and hated by the people, shunned and hunted. I saved her and taught her the Word of our Lord and she serves us and our Lord most faithfully." The Inquisitor undid her chains as he spoke.

Jinx smiled shyly as the Inquisitor spoke of her and she helped Deirdre put on the robe while Light, who still stood near the door, glared at the two girls.

"I can show you this fortress, how we do our Lord's work and you can then decide what to do." The Inquisitor said, standing and offering his hand to her.

"I will stay here." Deirdre spoke in a soft voice.

She huddled in her corner and turned away, not wishing to look upon the Inquisitor.

"As you wish." The Inquisitor sighed gently. "I shall return tomorrow, so see if you have changed your mind."

The Inquisitor gently replaced her chains, making sure they were loose, but would still hold her securely and Deirdre tried hard not to flinch whenever he touched her. The Inquisitor motioned for Light and Jinx to follow him. Jinx bowed slightly to Deirdre and left, Light sneered at Deirdre and then slammed the door, locking it with a loud clunk.

Hidden off the roads of England, somewhere between Greenwich and Hampton Court, in a forest somewhere, there was a tower, an obelisk. The directions to such a place were so vague, one needed to know exactly where he or she was going in order to get there. The obelisk towered above the trees, but thick and heavy fog kept it well hidden. It was not as if any people would travel that far off the main road unless they had business at the obelisk anyways and there were two that traveled there that had somewhat urgent business indeed. And a most strange pair those two were; one was a knight with heavy armor, far too large and heavy for a standard gorse, his armor was dark and intimidating and he carried no standard or emblem to identify himself and of all things, he rode upon what was apparently an African Rhinoceros. Appearances aside, this beast, being big enough to carry the knight, was no beast at all; in its gray eyes was the gleam of intelligence. The knight and his mount charged into the forest, unhindered by mist; they moved through the forest with great confidence of their path. And the forest seemed to lead them through it; the obelisk seemed to beckon them. The rhino's gait slowed as they came up to the golden structure and then stopped completely. Knight slid off of the beast's back and took a few steps. Behind him, the audible sounds of grinding bone and flesh shifting were heard. He took a bundle of clothing from off his back and turned; where once there had been a rhino, now crouched Gareth, clad only in some snug ripped shorts.

"Thanks, guv'." He said as he took the clothing bundle from Knight.

Dressing quickly he joined Knight at what should have been the front entrance, however the wall was smooth and there were neither indents nor markings to suggest a door.

"So… uh… how do we get in?" Gareth inquired, glancing at Knight.

As though in response, a doorway, just large enough for Knight to pass through faded into the Obelisk wall. A woman of slender build, dark hair, slightly tanned skin and dark eyes came through the doorway. She wore a gown typical of the style of the time, but she seemed so exotic and completely out of place in that attire.

"Welcome. I am Inza. My husband has been awaiting your arrival, sir Knight, master Logan." She moved to one side, motioning them inside with a swooping gesture.

"Your husband?" Gareth asked stepping inside.

"Oded Fehr… Knight has known him along time." She replied.

The ascended the stairs and entered what appeared to be a laboratory. There tables covered with papers with notes scrawled on them, beakers, glass bowls and cages housing strange and exotic animals. Gareth stopped at each one, examining the creatures as best he could and in turn it seemed the creatures examined him. The walked through a small archway into an adjoined chamber, where there was a large examination table, for a body to lie on as well as many shelves and other small tables upon which sat many artifacts of arcane and mystical origin. Oded Fehr, dressed in his dark blue robes with gold trim, was standing there waiting for them.

"Good evening gentlemen. You are welcome to my humble abode." Fehr said as they approached. "You must be wondering why sir Knight needed to come here, correct, mister Logan?"

"Uh… yeah… You know me?"

"Indeed, I knew your parents as well and I knew his father too." Fehr said.

Knight moved over to the table. Fehr reached up and removed his helm; the man beneath the helmet was dark skinned and the left half of his skull had a metal covering bolted to it, there was an eye-shaped slit where his left eye should have been and a red glow came from within it.

"He is here, because he is not quite a living man anymore and he needs special maintenance to continue to live. That is why he comes to me periodically. You are here, first to help me, for his armor is quite heavy…"

Fehr removed one of the shoulder guards and Gareth went over to help. He nearly gasped at the sight beneath the armor: much of the flesh was burned and destroyed, one could see the nerves, muscle and sinew and those tissues had been hooked, sewn and tied to metal wires, which connected to clockwork devices. Most of Knight's left arm was not flesh but metal and to all appearances attempted to duplicate the workings of a person's arm through clockwork and machinery. As they continued to remove pieces, Gareth was stunned; he had seen many disfiguring diseases in his life, some of the worst plagues, but nothing compared to this as it appeared that Knight had a contagion where metal and clockwork would consume his body, but that was appearance only. Most of Knight's left arm was gone, his left leg as well and his right leg, below the knee was gone too. What was gone had been replaced with heavy, bulky clockwork and the remaining muscles and nerves were hooked up to wires in imitation of how the muscles would function normally. The left side of his chest, in fact most of the left side of his body had metal bolted to the flesh, the left side of his chest had a transparent covering and inside one could see leather bags inflating and pulsating regularly, one rhythmic like a heartbeat the other a slow inflation and deflation, like inhaling and exhaling. Once all the armor was off, Knight laid back on the table.

"You are here… because he asked that you come." Fehr said as he reached gently into the eye-shaped slit and removed a small, glowing red crystal.

As the crystal was removed, Knight's body went cold and a slight pallor set in.

"How…" Gareth stammered, barely able to focus because of what he was seeing.

"His father was a shaman of Africa, a brilliant man in terms of sorcery. However, his village was under the watchful eyes of the Inquisition, who were just waiting for the right moment to have the entire village and it's populace put to the torch…" Fehr said as he inspected each individual piece of armor and mechanism that he had removed from Knight. "Silas, Vic… Knight's father wanted a way to protect his village. It was… a misguided plan, the kind of defense he planed would have branded the village as heretics and it would have brought the wrath of the Church and it's Paladins down upon them. I told him as much, but he attempted his plan regardless. He summoned… a creature, a thing that was made of slime and he gave it a simple instruction: defend the village from enemies. The creature, however, did not, or could not discern friend from foe and began to destroy, to devour everything in sight. Silas had done the Church's work for them. He was only barely able to save Knight from the creature and even then, much of Knight's body had already been devoured."

Finished his inspection, Fehr placed the gem he held on a small pedestal.

"The body was… too badly damaged to save, but he saved the soul in this gem. He used his arts to preserve the body, keeping the rest from decaying. He brought what remained of Knight to me and together we sought a way to bring the body back to life. Using what technology I had, we examined the body and other corpses to determine how the limbs functioned, how we could duplicate that and eventually we constructed replacement parts." Fehr drew a pentagram around the gem with chalk as he spoke. "Of course, without a 'spark', the muscles would not move and there was no way we could produce and artificial lightning that could be controlled to imitate the human 'spark'. That is why we used his soul to reproduce that 'spark'. That is also why Knight needs to return to me sometimes, to replenish that 'spark'."

"How do you replenish that 'spark'?" Gareth asked approaching cautiously.

"That is the second reason why you are here. Knight needs a bit of your life energy to keep going, otherwise, his own spirit will…"

"You don't have to say anymore." Gareth smiled. "He's my friend."

Fehr took a golden helmet from his shelves and placed it on his head. He took Gareth's arm and began to chant. Lines of red energy began to extend from the pentagram and into Gareth's arm. It seemed to suck power out of him, though he neither flinched nor cried out and then the lines receeded. Gareth nearly collapsed and Inza caught him.

"You will be weak for while. Get some rest and then you are free to do as you will. As for sir Knight, he will be waiting for you at this time tomorrow." Fehr said.

"What… about Knight?" Gareth asked as Inza helped him stumble away.

"Fear not, for he is in the hands of Fate." Inza said with a gentle smile.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And finally the fifth chapter is complete. We once again return to see Deirdre's fate and see Light again. And we meet the Grand Inquisitor, his right hand girl, Jinx. And his twin messenger (gee I wonder who they were). By the way, Domdaniel is not an actual place, but it is a place in mythology. Quote from Reader's encyclopedia: "a fabled abode of evil spirits, gnomes, and enchanters, 'under the roots of the ocean' off Tunis, or elsewhere. It first appears in Chaves and Cazotte's Continuation of the Arabian Nights (1788-1793), was introduced by Southey into his Thalaba, and used by Carlyle as synonymous with a den of iniquity".

And we see that Oded Fehr is Dr Fate ('in the hands of Fate' is a pun if you didn't get it by the way), yeah I know I wanted to keep this story to the Titans and their allies, but I just couldn't find an appropriate replacement for Dr Dee who was Queen Elizabeth's physician at the time. Rumor was that that Mr Dee was a madician, a dabbler in magics as well as the Queen's Master of Medicines; it was also rumored that the Queen would often go to him for matters on the arcane.


End file.
